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Choosing a spine surgeon
I have a problem in that I have interviewed many surgeons and there are at least two who have very good reviews and I'm having a hard time deciding who to go with. One of the surgeons had one bad review out of all good reviews. The other one had no bad reviews at all. I had a minor surgery/decompression with one of them that was successful only for 4 months and then my symptoms came back. He's very likable guy has great reviews and would do the fusion but I am a little worried since the first time it didn't really stick. It's very hard to decide since I already have a relationship with him and I do like him. Can anyone identify with this kind of dilemma and share a way to choose which surgeon to work on me? I keep getting more recommendations also which you and makes it more complicated.
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@annie1 If I remember correctly back to your conversations before your laminectomy, didn’t you have opinions from other surgeons recommending against laminectomy and in favor of fusion? Is osteoporosis also involved? That may have been a reason for a surgical recommendation.
I also agree in choosing a surgeon based on his/her training, skill and record of success and enough experience to be good at what he/she does.
I spoke with a very well trained Surgeon at Mt Sinai today who also has reservations about fusion since I have Osteoporosis, but he wants me to wait a few more months on Evenity. He was the most honest of all the surgeons. He said there definitely can be complications with osteoporosis with fusion. I have been on Evenity for four shots now. He said I might need more surgeries if I do the fusion too soon, wheras none of the others are holding back. Some they said they can do it now. He told me to ask them how many cases they have had with complications, which I respect him more for.
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1 Reaction@laura1970
Thanks I interviewed a surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC, supposedly one of the best hospitals, but there are many good ones here. I asked him how many cases he had with complications and he said "none." I was anxious and forgot to ask how many fusions he has done this month, due to sleep deprivation. I will have to ask him on the portal I suppose.
Its possible perhaps to find it online but I suspect you would require a subscription service. But it goesnt hurt to google “surgeons name, complication rate” or whatever variables you are interested in. Also you may be able to get the info from the office manager, without having to bother the surgeon. My friend is a surgeon, ill ask her if there is another way to get info. Dont hold your breath on getting a timely response.. shes very busy
@nlback22 thanks
@laura1970
Do you really think the office manager for a surgeon would be able to tell me the complications for that surgeon? That sounds like something they would not be told to give out to patients. Do you think it's a little unrealistic to think the surgeon has had no complications in any of his surgeries that he's done? That's what he said, none!
@jenniferhunter
Hi Jennifer yes that was me but two years ago who asked a lot of questions and then had the laminotomy only. You're saying to look up the surgeon's success rate but I don't know how to find that? That's not really public ly available as far as I have been able to see. Do you know a way to find that?
@annie1 yes I think it’s totally unrealistic unless he’s not doing very many surgeries, which would be a red flag as well.
Yes you are right. An office manager probably would not give out that information even if they did know it.
I was simply brainstorming ways to get the information without having to wait until your next appointment.
I’m sure the information is cataloged somewhere. The question is are you (we, collectively, as patients) able to access it
@annie1
I did find this, with an AI search. It mentions that some hospitals publish this data publicly. I suspect this is only at hospitals that beat the benchmark standards. The pro-publica source looks promising, though I haven’t tried it.
It looks like some states have data open to the public
@laura1970
Well if you can ask your friend how to if there is a way to find that out that would be great. I also found something called a patient advocate that Medicare pays for and I have my first consultation with someone on Monday evening. Maybe they could help with that kind of thing.